Under the Moon
by Bookkbaby
Summary: Tendershipping. "Then explain to me what's so fascinating about the Ra-damned moon."


Disclaimer: No, I don't own any of the characters you see here. I also make no money from writing this. If you sue me, pocket lint shall be your only reward.

A/N: This piece is actually a rewrite of an older fic of mine. My writing has changed a lot and I wanted to redo something of mine and was pleasantly surprised by the results. (For those of you who are curious, this is a revised version of 'Moonlit Metaphors', though this fic ended up being very different from the first version.)

Dedicated to SilverAffection, who is the muse that inspired this piece. Thanks also to Tim (he knows who he is!), MissterCackles, and Niamh for betaing!

Under the Moon

Bakura leaned against the door frame, scowling out at the backyard of the house he shared with his former 'landlord'. Said former landlord was in the backyard, lying down in the grass and staring up into the night sky. He had been doing it every night for the past two weeks.

Bakura stalked away from the house, silently approaching his former landlord. It had been less than a month since Bakura had been given his own body through the 'benevolence' of the Ra-damned Pharaoh and the Gods, but his movements were as graceful as they had been back in ancient Egypt. Apparently he was supposed to learn about 'friendship' and 'love' in this life before his spirit would be judged. A 'second chance'.

Bakura would have rather had his soul eaten.

He had been living with his former host for the past three weeks. He knew no one else in this realm. Even if he did, he wasn't the kind to accept charity from anyone. His former landlord was easy enough to bully and the house was spacious. Meals were even provided for him here, so it was the perfect place to stay until he had... acquired enough funds to move elsewhere. He had already begun collecting the money he would need and the moment he had enough to move out, he would leave Domino City and never look back.

Bakura's steps ceased less than a foot from his landlord's head. He crossed his arms over his chest and scowled down at the white-haired boy, looming over him.

Ryou blinked, shifting his focus from the sky to Bakura. Ryou smiled politely and Bakura scowled in return, pretending not to notice when Ryou's smile faltered.

"What are you doing out here?" Bakura demanded. "Don't you have that 'school' shit tomorrow?"

Ryou shook his head.

"It's a holiday tomorrow, Bakura. School is cancelled."

Bakura grunted in acknowledgment and looked up at the sky, scowl darkening when he saw nothing but the moon and stars. They weren't as bright or as visible here as they had been back when he was alive. They were dull now, useless rocks instead of the gems he had seen them as in his first life.

"What the fuck is so fascinating about the sky?" he asked. He heard Ryou make a questioning noise and continued, turning his scowl back to his former landlord. "Must be something pretty damned exciting for you to come out here every night, landlord."

Ryou's cheeks went faintly pink.

"You noticed?" he asked, sounding surprised.

"You were expecting that I wouldn't?"

Ryou looked away, turning his head to the side and staring at the grass rather than looking up at the moon or Bakura. Bakura found his eyes tracing over Ryou's neck to the collar of his striped shirt, noting how pale the exposed skin was and thinking how easily it would bruise if he were to bite it, even gently...

He shook his head, throwing the thought away with an irritated growl. He really needed to move out. Soon.

Ryou still hadn't answered. Bakura nudged the boy's head with his foot, perhaps a bit harder than necessary. Ryou winced.

"Well? What's so _fascinating_ about the sky?"

Ryou moved his arms out from underneath his head and pushed himself to a sitting position, one hand rubbing the spot Bakura had tapped.

"I just like to watch the moon," Ryou replied, voice going soft towards the end of the sentence as though his mind had wandered off. He was silent for a moment and he moved his hand from his head to the ground, leaning back on his palms and turning his gaze to the sky. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"

Bakura stared at Ryou for a moment then scoffed.

"Ridiculous." Bakura turned away, intending to head back to the house. "Now come on, let's go back inside."

Bakura could hear the sound of grass rustling, but it didn't sound like his former landlord was getting up. He turned, scowling, to see that Ryou had curled in on himself instead of getting up.

"I've already cleaned up from dinner. I'd like to stay out here for a little longer."

Bakura turned to face Ryou again, his expression going darker.

"Then explain to me what's so fascinating about the Ra-damned moon," he demanded, folding his arms across his chest again. Ryou's arms tightened around his knees.

"Well?"

"The moon is just so bright," Ryou mumbled, not looking at Bakura. "The light is pale and weak compared to the sun, but it's still bright. It's surrounded by darkness, but the dark seems to hold it so gently-"

Ryou suddenly cut himself off, shooting a quick look over his shoulder at Bakura before looking back up at the moon. Bakura stared at Ryou's tensed shoulders, a smirk slowly forming on his lips. He stepped forward, dropping down to the grass when he was right next to Ryou. Ryou almost jumped, turning to see what Bakura was doing. Bakura stretched out his legs, leaning his weight back onto his palms and staring back at Ryou. He could see his former landlord's face pale at the sight of his smirk. Bakura's expression turned smug.

"Continue, landlord. I don't _think_ I gave you permission to stop explaining."

Ryou swallowed and looked away from Bakura, fidgeting nervously. Bakura waited, smirk widening as Ryou's face turned red.

"I-I just think that the moon must never be lonely, since it always has the darkness. They complete each other, the light and the dark-" Ryou cut himself off again, his blush deepening. Bakura leaned over, just barely invading Ryou's personal space.

"_Oh?_" he purred. Ryou tried to subtly inch away, not looking at Bakura. Bakura straightened up and looked at the moon, smirk slowly fading back into a scowl. The moon's light was pure and untainted, clean and white. If the darkness ever truly embraced it... "Have you ever considered that maybe the darkness smothers the moon?"

Out of the corner of his eye, Bakura saw Ryou's gaze snap to him.

"Bakura?"

The former tomb robber turned his head to meet Ryou's gaze.

"The dark smothers the light and kills it. The moon may get reborn every month, but people aren't so lucky." Bakura stood abruptly, scowl firmly back on his face. "I'm going back inside. Come in whenever you're done with this foolishness."

Bakura turned to go.

"Wait!"

A hand suddenly grabbed his ankle. Bakura stumbled but didn't fall, hopping a half-step with his other foot before regaining his balance and turning to glare at the offending hand. Ryou let go quickly, drawing his hand back to his chest. Ryou stared up at Bakura, an almost hopeful expression on his face. He opened his mouth to speak but then closed it before making a sound.

"What?" Bakura demanded. Ryou swallowed heavily.

"I don't think that the dark kills the light," Ryou said tentatively. "They're two halves of a whole, even if one does sometimes eclipse the other. I... I think..."

Ryou swallowed nervously again, hands curling into fists.

"You _think_?" Bakura prompted sarcastically. Ryou's eyes narrowed slightly and he squared his shoulders.

"I think that the dark is afraid to hold the light."

Bakura stood, stunned into paralysis for a moment as Ryou's bold words registered. Once they did, Bakura growled furiously and reached down to grab handfuls of Ryou's shirt. The slender teen yelped in surprise as he was hauled up to be on eye-level with Bakura. Ryou's eyes widened in surprise and fear as Bakura glared at him from point-blank range, their noses less than an inch apart.

"Afraid?" Bakura hissed, barely resisting the urge to shake some sense into his former host. "Darkness doesn't _fear_ anything."

Ryou gently put a hand on each of Bakura's. He didn't try to pry Bakura's hands away, simply held on. Bakura's grip slackened, though only a little.

"I'm sorry," Ryou said softly. Bakura glared at him then roughly let go and shoved him back. Ryou stumbled, one arm thrown out for balance though the other stayed on his chest, over his heart.

"You're a _fool_," Bakura snapped. Ryou flinched. "An absolute, Ra-damned _idiot_."

"I can't help what I feel!" Ryou shot back. "I can't help caring about you!"

Ryou slapped a hand over his mouth, eyes wide in sudden horror. Up until now they had been speaking in ambiguities, something either party could ignore if they chose, but this crossed the line from theoretical to reality. Bakura's glare darkened and he stepped closer to Ryou. Ryou took a half-step back, staring at Bakura.

"B-Bakura?"

"You Ra-damned _idiot_," Bakura repeated, hissing. He grabbed one of Ryou's shoulders, grip strong enough to bruise. Ryou winced and tried to edge away, but Bakura simply tightened his grip. "It's a simple concept, but since you don't get it, I'll put it in a way that you can understand."

Bakura's eyes narrowed, his gaze still locked with Ryou's.

"I would rip you apart."

Ryou inhaled sharply.

"Your purity, your innocence... I would taint everything and destroy it. You would be _mine_." Bakura put his other hand to Ryou's face, sliding over his cheek before moving to harshly grip the nape of Ryou's neck. Ryou winced at the pressure but didn't try to pull away. "Is that what you _want_, landlord? You know what I've done and you know what I'm still capable of. Do you want these hands to touch you?"

He roughly slid his hand from Ryou's shoulder over the slender teen's chest. His hand stopped when it reached Ryou's waist. Bakura pulled his former host against him, inwardly groaning at how it felt to finally be so close to Ryou, even if was just this once.

He waited for Ryou's response, his grip on the other tightening involuntarily when Ryou's hands came up to his shoulders as though to push him away. To Bakura's surprise, Ryou's hands slid over his shoulders and wrapped around him. Ryou pulled them closer, tucking his chin over one of Bakura's shoulders and pressing them as close as it was physically possible to get while still wearing clothes. Bakura's hands fell away from Ryou's body and he stood stock-still, hardly even breathing.

"It's OK, Bakura," Ryou said, voice soft. "I do know what you've done. I know who you are and I still..."

Bakura put his hands on Ryou's shoulders and pushed, almost gently shoving Ryou away.

"Bakura?"

Bakura didn't answer, instead staring intently at Ryou's face for any sign of rejection as he laid a palm on Ryou's cheek. One of Ryou's hands instantly went up to cover his, holding his hand in place as Ryou leaned hesitantly into the touch.

"You still...?" Bakura prompted, leaning in. Their noses brushed. Ryou's breath caught in his throat, eyes going half lidded and then closing fully as their lips touched.

Bakura's tongue instantly swept across Ryou's bottom lip, not so much asking for entrance as demanding it. Ryou slowly opened his mouth, letting out a muffled noise of surprise when Bakura wasted no time in exploring the new area.

Bakura heard Ryou moan quietly and smirked into the kiss, pulling back just as Ryou began to melt into him. The slender teen drew in a big lungful of air as they parted, holding onto Bakura's shoulders with sudden desperation as though he thought Bakura was going to leave.

Bakura chuckled dryly at the thought.

"Foolish landlord," he murmured, leaning back in. "Now you'll never get rid of me."

Ryou's only response was a muffled 'mmph!'.

END

A/N: Hope you enjoyed! Please let me know what you think! Reviews make my day.


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